Great PR for the Garden

Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell visited the garden this weekend and talked to Sean O'Rourke on Tuesday 3rd February on RTE Radio 1 about her visit. It was a great bit of PR and we do hope it helps generate lots of visitors, new members and maybe even some sponsorship opportunities. Check out the 15 minute piece here:http://www.rte.ie/radio1/today-with-sean-o-rourke/

WELCOME TO THE SANTRY COMMUNITY GARDEN

Why not come and join us as we bring our beautiful 4 acre Walled Garden within Santry Demesne public park back to life?

The Santry Community Garden group was formed in 2010 with the aim to revitalise the Garden and turn it into a wonderful amenity for the whole neighbourhood. From an empty, barren, locked up plot it now has a thriving kitchen garden, Heritage Orchard and ornamental section and is the hub of many community activities. We have a large and diverse membership and have developed links with other volunteer and community groups which include the Conservation Volunteers, Whitehall Beavers, Trees for Cities, OWLS, Dublin Community Growers etc.

Since we started over four years ago with a few vegetables in the back corner, we now have a wonderful kitchen garden teeming with a huge variety of fruit and vegetables, a busy polytunnel and wildlife area and we have planted up the front section of the plot as an ornamental garden, erected a social area/shelter for gardeners and have built a series of raised beds.

In February 2013 we started a project to graft the National Collection of Heritage Variety Apple trees in our beautiful heritage Orchard (featured in the Irish Times) which has been funded through a successful tree sponsorship scheme.

Summer 2013 saw us welcoming bees to the garden. We built an apiary and have several hives which have produced some wonderful honey - made sweeter and more complex by the huge variety of plants and flowers the bees can visit within the walls of the garden.

With over 90 members who work on an entirely voluntary basis with limited ad-hoc funds our garden must surely be one of the largest and most successful community gardens in Dublin (if not Ireland). We welcome new members and visitors so come and see People Power in action.

Explore the website to find out more and come and visit us whenever the garden is open.

The SCG Walled Garden is a huge project - 4 1/2 acres (gulp!) so it's a lot of work

Birds Eye view from the side entrance coming into the kitchen garden

Birds Eye view across the 2012 potato bed towards the polytunnel

Our beautiful Heritage Orchard with the front section beyond that

View across our part constructed social area towards the polytunnel

WANT TO GET INVOLVED?

We would love more people to become part of this great adventure so
why not become a member?

2015 WINTER GARDEN OPENING TIMES

The garden is currently openWednesdays between 2.00pm - 4.00pmFridays between 2.00pm - 4.00pmSat and Sunday between 11.00am - 1.00pm

We are sometimes in the garden a little later (or earlier!) than the published times, especially in good weather so it might be worth your while coming up even if it's outside the hours above.

LIKE WHAT WE ARE DOING?

Want to help but don't have the time or inclination to get your hands dirty?

Although we are grateful to all our gardening Members we really appreciate any support you can offer us. For the busy, the harrassed or the gardening-phobic, why not become a Friend of the Garden? For a fee of 20 euro per year (or 10 euros for concessions) you will be have the satisfying knowledge that you are supporting a fantastic local amenity, can keep up to date with our progress, but suffer none of the guilt for not actually gardening! What's not to love about that? Click here to become a Friend. Alternatively you can make a one off donation through Paypal, or visit us in the garden whenever we are open.

Sponsor a tree in our heritage orchard!

We are replanting the Orchard in the second part of the garden with a selection of native heritage variety fruit trees and bushes.

Already we have over 150 trees planted, nearly100 of which have been sponsored by friends of the Garden. But there are more to be done and lots of space!

HOW TO FIND US

Location of the Garden. Click to enlarge or see our Contact Us page for directions

Happy New Year from the Santry Community Garden

New Year's Resolutions:

Eat more healthy food - fresh fruit and veg!

Take up a new pastime

Get more exercise

Save money

Learn new skills

Give something back to the community

Do some voluntary work

Get more fresh air

Take up a new hobby with the kids

If any of the above are your new year's resolutions, well you've come to the right place! Why not join the Santry Community Garden and get 2015 off to a positive start. Come and see us and find out what we're up to - we're always looking for new members.